US Democrats unveil immigration reforms

Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday for President Joe Biden's plan to create a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, saying there is no justification for denying them a permanent home in the United States. 

Biden called the policy reforms "long overdue" and said they were aimed at reversing the "misguided policies" of his predecessor Donald Trump, who mounted a hardline effort to halt illegal immigration, slash legal immigration and drive out undocumented immigrants, even those in the country for decades.

The new proposal aims to give legal protections to millions of people, mostly from Mexico and central America, who have lived in the country for many years, with homes, businesses and US-born children and grandchildren.

"Immigration is an irrefutable source of our strength and is essential to who we are as a nation," Biden said in a statement. "This is an important first step in pursuing immigration policies that unite families, grow and enhance our economy, and safeguard our security," he said.

The main focus of the legislation is to offer an eight-year path to citizenship to most of the undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.

Some, including farmworkers and people brought to the country as children -- so-called Dreamers -- will get an immediate path to permanent residency or a "green card," allowing them to work legally.

Others addressed include thousands of people in the United States under temporary protected status (TPS) due to violent upheavals or natural disasters in their home countries.

And, underscoring the Biden administration's reversal from Trump's strident anti-immigration policies, the legislation also proposes the end of calling undocumented immigrants "aliens" in US law.  Instead, they will be referred to as "non-citizens."